Scott hires a lawyer just to get some information

Scott, the Australian who used the anchored putting stroke to win the Masters in April, is part of a group that has retained a lawyer to look into the situation. Hiring legal representation, he said Wednesday on the eve of the Memorial Tournament, was just a way of not being left out of the loop.

“My intention is just to get all the information given to me possible from the PGA Tour,” he said. “And just really, for me, like anyone else in a business, to have some professional guidance on this issue.”

The two governing bodies of the sport, the U.S. Golf Association and The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, have outlawed the anchored putting stroke used by four of the last six major champions. The rule takes effect in 2016 prohibiting players from anchoring a club against their bodies. Those two groups have urged the PGA Tour to join them so that the sport is played under one set of rules.

“I don’t think I have the ability to get that (information) or ask the right questions, necessarily. I’m not a lawyer. And that’s not my area of expertise,” he said. “So I just want to get that information and make sure that my views are expressed to the Tour and that’s that. There’s no intention of filing suit or making problems.”

Vijay Singh has sued the PGA Tour for exposing him to “public humiliation and ridicule” during a 12-week investigation into his use of deer antler spray, a substance that was on the tour’s list of banned substances. The tour subsequently dropped its case against him and Singh filed the lawsuit later.

Addressing the issue of the banned putting motion, Scott said he was only trying to level the playing field.

“This is a business and I’m treating it professionally and I have professional counsel to do that,” he said. “I’m sure the tour has professional counsel when they make decisions about things or the USGA or R&A, for that matter. They wouldn’t do this without professional help either, so that’s all it is.”

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WHERE’S TIGER? Many golf fans, conditioned by the emphasis placed on winning major championships, might not be fully aware that Tiger Woods has won four times in seven PGA Tour starts this season. That is a remarkable winning percentage for a tour player.

Davis Love III said people need to appreciate of just how good he has been.

“People say, `What’s the matter with Tiger?’ Nothing’s the matter with him. As long as he plays, he wins,” Love said Wednesday during preparations for the Memorial Tournament. “When he was out for 6 months at a time, he didn’t have a chance to win. But when he’s been playing, he consistently wins one out of every four times he plays.”

Or, of course, even more often than that.

Woods is rested after taking time off _ he was spotted water skiing with his kids and Olympic kiing star Lindsey Vonn _ and ready to defend his title at the Muirfield Village layout where he has won a record five times.